Hilo Motorcyclist Dies in Accident 06/30/00

A 37-year-old Hilo man died Thursday (June 29, 2000) of injuries he received after his motorcycle rear-ended a car traveling north on Volcano Highway (Route 11) about five miles south of Mamaki Street.

The victim was identified as Guy M. Quitoriano, of a Hilo address.

Responding to a 8:51 p.m. call, police determined that Quitoriano was riding his 1999 Honda motorcycle at high speed toward Hilo with another motorcyclist when his motorcycle struck the rear end of a 1986 Suzuki four-door hatchback driven by Steven Blase, 41, of Hilo.

Quitoriano was taken to the Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m.

The second motorcycle left the scene of the accident.

Blase was arrested for drunk driving, failure to have any no-fault insurance, driving with an expired weight tax and expired safety sticker, fraudulent use of license plates and having a false certificate. He was released pending further investigation.

Investigators determined that speed was a factor in the accident.

Anyone with information about the identity of the second motorcyclist is asked to call acting Sergeant Christopher Gali of the Traffic Enforcement Unit at 961-2332.

Thursday’s death was the 20th fatality so far this year on the Big Island, compared with 10 at the same time last year.